“Love jihad” is a conspiracy theory, espoused mainly by Hindu right-wing groups, that claims Muslim men marry Hindu women with the objective of converting them to Islam. A Hindu outfit called Kranti Sena organised a vigil against Muslim henna artists in Muzaffarnagar on Tuesday, officials said on Wednesday.
The group organised the vigil in a market area in the city ahead of the festival of Teej to ensure Muslims do not apply henna to Hindus, claiming that because of rising cases of “love jihad” it was important that people from the two communities do not interact. “Love jihad” is a conspiracy theory, espoused mainly by Hindu right-wing groups, that claims Muslim men marry Hindu women with the objective of converting them to Islam.
SP (City) Arpit Vijayvargia said, “It was brought to our notice after a video was uploaded on social media in which some people can be seen walking through a market. It was alleged that the group had a communal agenda. Security has been heavily deployed in markets since there are many festivals. The mentioned persons were not spotted. It is possible three to four people went solely for the purpose of the video. There is no law-and-order problem and no complaint has been received.”
Kranti Sena leader Manoj Saini said, “We carried out a drive to check if there was any Muslim applying henna. We did not find any such person. We were assured by shopkeepers that only Hindus would do so.”
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